Most printed material on 8-ball rules use these terms as meaning the same thing. Anyone know where I can find a distinction made in print. Ex. Call Pocket: Call three ball in corner pocket, if it goes clean, or if it carooms off the two ball on way to pocket it is good. In call shot you have to call it "clean" or call the caroom off the 2 otherwise it is loss of turn. Or does this distinction just come up in "house rules"? Jake

SPetty

02-08-2003, 08:25 AM

Hi Jake,

I'm definitely no expert, but I've never seen any official-type printed rules that said anything about call shot as you're describing it. All the rules I've ever seen published are call pocket.

WaltVA

02-08-2003, 09:14 AM

The latest BCA rules specifically defining "call shot" say,"He [the player] need not indicate any detail such as kisses, caroms, combinations, or cushions (all of which are legal)." In other words, call ball and pocket only. See (Sec. 4.2) http://www.bca-pool.com/play/tournaments/rules/rls_8bl.shtml

However, in almost every bar there is somebody who will insist that call shot means describing every cushion, kiss, carom, etc. When I run into one, I generally finish that game and leave, rather than try to educate them.

We do have a couple of small bar tournaments in the area that have posted rules that state "the eight must go clean." That's the only exception I'm aware of.

Walt in VA

02-08-2003, 09:27 AM

This distinction only comes up in house rules by people who generally don't know any better. The "official" rules of the BCA and WPA only require ball and pocket, it doesn't matter how it gets there. As with most of those "gray areas" in pool rules, in a bar or playing with strangers I usually ask before we play or before I shoot the shot, just to be sure. I don't usually mind playing "call everything" if that's what they want, as long as I'm aware of it ahead of time. As mentioned, it's usually fruitless to argue about it. Same in 9-ball with some folks believing it's illegal to take a combo on the 9 with ball-in-hand.

Years ago I used to actually carry a BCA rulebook around with me, thinking that would help resolve the rule disputes. For some it did, but many were just hardheaded and insisted that it wasn't played that way "around here."

David

jjinfla

02-08-2003, 10:27 AM

Thanks for the info. They used to play call everything at the local bar but I finally convinced the owner that he was losing customers because playing that way gave an edge to the better player so he switched to just calling the pocket and the 8 ball has to go clean. And of course cheesing the 9 when I give you ball in hand is illegal, but perfectly okay if I do it to you. Jake

Rich R.

02-08-2003, 11:33 AM

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote jjinfla:</font><hr> They used to play call everything at the local bar <hr /></blockquote>
The only places I have ever seen rules requiring the shooter to call all kisses, caroms, etc. were in bars. To my knowledge, no official rules require that.

L.S. Dennis

02-08-2003, 12:44 PM

Actually in Gray rules of call pocket nineball a nineball pocketed on a legal combination or billiard shot would not be a win. The nine would be spotted and the shooter keeps on shooting. I resisted this idea at first but little by little I began to see the merit in this. I like this rule now and wish pool at large would adopt his rules.

02-08-2003, 02:15 PM

LS: I was, of course, referring to "standard" 9-ball when I mentioned people not believing it legal to combo the 9 with BIH. I'm familiar with those rules of call-shot 9-ball, but have never played by them. I like "traditional" 9-ball for what it is. Maybe the call shot rule would grow on me, I don't know. I actually do prefer call-shot 8-ball (BCA rules) as opposed to the APA slop rules, though.

David

kf6okw

08-13-2007, 12:45 PM

I too am in this delema and have not been able to sway either the bar owner nor the bulk of the local players to convert to "standardized" pool. So in the absence of a previously written set of slot rules for the game that thousands of Americans already attempt to play , I am making an attempt to do it myself. The existing draft is located at http://frazierpark.biz/gentlemens_callshot.html and I invite this knowlegable userbase to positively contribute to oversites and other tweaks on this stab at standardization.